The invention relates to a fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (F-1,6-BP aldolase), and a process for the preparation thereof and its use.
The current interest in specific aldol reactions and in the synthesis of monosaccharides which do not occur in nature and are difficult to obtain chemically has led to more and more attention being paid to the aldolases. The use of biocatalysts offers an efficient alternative for the organic synthesis of these biologically important substances, which may also be of use in medicine. The F-1,6-BP aldolase of rabbit muscle is today the only enzyme used in synthesis (A. E. Seriani et al., Meth. Enzymol., 69: 83-92 (1982)). This aldolase isolated from rabbit muscle is costly and relatively unstable. On the other hand, a class 1 F-1,6-BP aldolase has already been isolated from Staphylococcus aureus and has similar enzymological properties to the aldolase isolated from rabbit muscle, but is considerably more stable to heat (F. Gotz et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 108: 293-301 (1980)). However, the suitability of Staphylococcus aureus as an enzyme producer appears to be low because of its pathogenic properties.